


If I could choose

by MyCuriosity



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, Nouis, PA Niall, alternative universe, bad Zayn, yup Freddie is here as well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 22:44:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11861169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyCuriosity/pseuds/MyCuriosity
Summary: "Who are you?", was all Louis could bring out and looked at him with big eyes. "I am you new personal assistant, Mr. Tomlinson."The guy was still standing next to his desk and looked a bit nervous for the first time."Yeah, I kinda got that, but what is your name?""Oh crap", the men cursed and it was the first time he let go of his professional manner, "I am Niall, Sir, Niall Horan."





	If I could choose

**Author's Note:**

> Hello you lovely people.  
> Had this story on my laptop for quite some time and actually forgot about it. Found it recently, polished it a bit and thought some of you might like :)  
> No need for it to dust on my computer.  
> Have fun at it!
> 
> PS: have the feeling that something if off with the formatting but can't figure out what ...

If he would have just stayed in the office a bit longer yesterday, he would be so much better prepared for this board meeting. The new FIFA game was way too tempting last night though and he couldn't help the nervous glance around at the table. He just knew, that the elderly men would take him apart. With all the recent things happening, Louis just didn't had the time to prepare the report of the last quarter in time and they were going to have his head for this and his father will have another reason to be utterly unhappy with him and he should just get up and quit straight away. A quick and easy exit. Or something like that.

The last couple of people were entering the room, including a younger blond lad that he had never seen before. Louis followed him with his eyes and was surprised when the men looked directly at him and came over.

"Mr. Tomlinson, I am your new personal assistant. Here is the report from the last month. I didn't had the time to do more than that, but you could improvise and make assumptions for the other timeframe based on the results", the man whispered and slipped a folder in front of Louis and before he could react, the man sat in the back with some other people to take notes. Louis stared at the folder in front of him and when he opened it, he let out a sigh of relief. This looked legit. He could do this.

 

The board meeting was endless. Louis stopped listening after the first ten minutes and only started paying attention again when his report was up. He was able to more or less bullshit his way through it and even though the chairman looked suspicious, he didn't commented on it.

After the meeting, Louis hurried out of the room and tried to get into the safety of his office as soon as possible.

"Mr. Tomlinson", someone called after him and he winced, looking around for an escape. When he turned around, he could see that it was the blond men from before. Right. His new PA.

Louis gave him a once over and was pleasently surprised. He didn't pay as much attention before but the guy looked close to his age, which meant he was a good 20 years below the average age of the company. Indeed, he actually looked pretty cute. When the blond reached Louis he handed him a cup.

"I brought some tea for you."

Even more suprised, Louis took the cup from him.

"Don't be offended, but I am a bit fussy with tea."

"Splash of milk, no sugar, I know."

The men in front of him grinned sheepishly and started to walk to the office. Louis made sure to follow quickly and to not looked to astonished.

"You have a short meeting with Mr. Brown later in the afternoon and there are a couple of people you should call regarding the Fullerton Project. Most of them are expecting your call as I phoned ahead and they will be prepared, so the phone meetings can be as productive as possible."

The guy kept on talking and walking and Louis caught himself walking behind him although he was supposed to be the boss. When they reached his office, the men opened the door and pointed to the desk.

"I organised your files a bit and made post-its so you know what is what. We can also go through them if you want to, but you should really call Mr. Anderson before the lunch break, because he has a golf game in the afternoon."

"Who are you?", was all Louis could bring out and looked at him with big eyes.

"I am you new personal assistant, Mr. Tomlinson."

The guy was still standing next to his desk and looked a bit nervous for the first time.

"Yeah, I kinda got that, but what is your name?"

"Oh crap", the men cursed and it was the first time he let go of his professional manner, "I am Niall, Sir, Niall Horan."

"Ok, Niall Horan. Cut the Sir and the Mr. please, I am really not old enough for this. I am Louis. How do you knew how I like my tea?"

"Sweet talked the secretary", Niall admitted and didn't even had the decency to be embarrassed about this.

Louis laughed out loud. "This is the kind of skills I need around me. Very good! When did they interview you?", he asked while finally making his way to his desk and sitting down. He noticed that his files were colour coded now. Actually, now that he thought about it, he couldn't even remember when he saw the wood of his desk the last time.

"This morning."

This made Louis look up.

"You were interviewed this morning, started the job immediately, made my report and sorted out my office? It's not even 12pm!"

Niall shrugged with his shoulders.

"The work wouldn't do itself and I thought I better get started. Here are the notes from the board meeting by the way."

"Niall, I think you are exactly the kind of men that I need in my life right now."

 

When Niall came home, he fell face first onto his mattress. He couldn't remember the last time he was this tired. Who would have guessed, that a proper 9-5 job could be this exhausting?

When his phone rang, he considered not moving at all but he knew that he hadn't talked to his mother in ages and he knew that she would be livid if he missed her call. It wasn't his mother.

"How was your first day chief?", the chirpy voice of his best mate Liam came through the phone.

"Was grand", was all Niall could managed while he started to roll on his back.

"Was your new boss okay?"

"He is a bit of a mess but he is alright. Could be way worse." It had been way worse, was the words that lingered in the air between them.

"You will be alright Nialler", the soft voice from Liam was reassuring him.

"Yeah", was all he could manage.

 

There was a reason why Louis couldn't keep his PAs around. He started in his fathers company two years ago and went through 7 assistants since then. So when he sneaked a glance at Niall in the car next to him, he couldn't help but wonder how long this lad would last. They were on the way to a meeting across town and Niall was furiously typing on his phone, sorting out a problem with another company that occured yesterday while getting Louis to his meeting on time. Something Louis should probably dealing be with. Which was why people quit on him. He was a catastrophe in the office. He was constantly unprepared, didn't went through his work as fast he had to and struggled to handle clients in a professional manner. His personal life was a right mess. Usually, his PAs ended up with more work than they could take or they constantly had to de-escalate situations that were not meant to be happening in the first place.

Niall was with him for a week and everything was way too perfect. The lad was organised, prepared as much of Louis work as possible and organised his day in a way that he actually got shit done.

And while doing that, he wasn't even a boring twat as other people in his position were. He was actually quite quirky and funny and Louis was convinced that they would have been friends if they would have randomly met at a bar.

"Sorted."

Louis was snapped out of his thoughts.

"Sorted?"

"There won't be another issue with the office of Bill Wright."

"How did you manage that?"

"I can be quite charming if I want to", Niall winked at him, "Try not to hit on his wife again the next time though."

"It was a simple flirt", exasperated Louis threw his arms in the air, "do people not understand jokes these days?"

"Not in this world", Niall sniggered and the car stopped.

"I will head back and prepare your meetings tomorrow. I left you some notes in your bag, just go have a peek at them in the restroom in case you are unsure about your bullet points today. I will collect you from here in the evening."

"You don't have to collect me, Mum", Louis rolled his eyes and unbuckled his seat belt.

"I might or might not bring you dinner, because all you will get at Fullerton are those horrible small canapés with salmon. So, say thank you and off you go."

"Thank you, Mum", Louis said with a grin and nearly left the car without his bag until Niall hit him in the back with it. He has never worked with anyone this fantastic!

 

When Simon, the driver, came to collect him in the evening, Louis slumped into the back seat and closed his eyes. Proper work was so exhausting. It took him a second to realise that Niall wasn't in the car as promised but he didn't gave too much thought into it. He was probably held up in the office or went home early after a hard days work.

When Simon pulled the car in front of Louis's small town house, he mumbled a thank you and climbed out. With a sigh of relief, he opened the front door and dropped everything on the spot. It was later than expected but Freddie should be still up, so he wasn't surprised when he saw the light turned on in the kitchen and living room. He was a bit surprised though, that it was so quiet in the house.

"Please let me explain."

With a little jump, Louis turned around, his heart beating fast.

"Niall? What the fuck are you doing here?"

He looked at his assistant and tried not to jump to conclusions. He was fairly certain that he never brought any of his assistants to his house or told them were to find a spare key for emergencies.

Niall looked the most casual, he had ever seen him. Which meant that he got rid of his suit jacket, had the first buttons of his shirt open, sleeves rolled up and his socked feet were shifting on the floor. He bit on his cuticles and looked proper nervous. Why did he look nervous?

"What is going on? Where is Freddie?"

Louis looked at him suspiciously.

"He is asleep in the living room. Didn't made it through 'Finding Nemo' completely."

"Ok.." Louis said slowly and still looked at him expectantly. The silence was hanging heavily in the room.

"I kinda fired your nanny."

Well, this was an unexpected turn of events.

"You did what?"

Louis tried to stay calm, but he noticed his own irritation. If there was one thing important to him, then that he kept his private life away from the company.

"I tried to call you", Niall started and was still standing in the doorway of the living room.

"But you left your phone in your office."

It was quiet for a bit.

"Go on."

Niall took a deep breath.

"I called your Nanny to let her know your appointments for the upcoming week. When I called, there was really loud music in the background and I had to ask multiple times for her to turn it down. When she talked to me, her speech was slurry. I had a bad feeling and went to check."

"How do you know where I live?"

"Looked it up in the computer system at work."

Of course.

"So, what was with Jenny?"

"She was stoned."

Louis tried to hold himself still and took a deep breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Are you sure?", he asked very calmy.

"Yeah", Niall mumbled.

Louis released his breath.

"I can't believe I left my son with a crack head."

He needed a drink. This women worked for him for a half a year and was looking after his son every single day during the week.

"Freddie is completely fine. I went to the doctors with him and he did some blood samples. He is absolutely sure that he didn't accidentally got his hands on anything and there was nothing else concerning. Well, he actually needed a flu shot, so we did that as well but..."

"You brought my child to a doctor?!"

Niall looked like someone slapped him. With an alarmed expression, his posture became cautios.

"I wanted to make sure that he didn't put anything from Jennys stuff in his mouth without her noticing. She admitted that she was using every once in a while while watching him and I just wanted to make sure that Freddie is ok. I am really sorry Louis."

Finally Louis started to move and made his way to the living room without saying another word.

He kneeled in front of the couch and looked at his little boy. Freddie was small for his three years, but nevertheless a ball of energy just like him. The blanket was wrapped around him and he snoozed peacefully. With a sigh, Louis leaned his head on his son and burried his nose in his hair. He smelled the new shampoo they got last week. Niall must have put him in a bath.

"Louis", Nialls quiet voice came from the door. When Louis looked up his assistant had his jacket on.

"I made spaghetti carbonara for dinner and there is some left in the microwave for you. I also just brewed some tea before you came, I thought, you might need it. I'll see myself out."

Before Louis could say another word, Niall was out of the door.

 

The ride in the underground to work was nervewrecking. Niall constantly loosened his tie and made it tighter again. He couldn't sit still and the women next to him let out an annoyed sigh, but he couldn't stop fidgeting. He could not loose this job.

When he arrived at work, he was half an hour to early, which was the way he liked it. He could sort Louis emails, go through the mail, organise the chaos Louis left the day before on his desk and brew some tea for both of them. Today, he noticed how his hands were shaking for the majority of his chores. He had to set down the tea mug and force his hands to stay calm before he picked it up again and put it on Louis desk. In that second, he heard the beep of the elevator and knew that Louis would be in his office within seconds.

Niall hurried out of the room and made his way to his own desk in the open office area of the floor. Although he usually stopped for a chat on his way, Nialls heart stuttered when Louis stood in front of his desk.

"Mind coming into my office?", he asked calmly.

The blond gulped and nodded.

When Louis closed the door and threw his stuff on the floor next to the desk, he turned around and looked suspicious.

"How did you manage to arrange three job interviews for nannies before 8am this morning?"

"Um", Niall started talking, unsure of himself, "I organised that yesterday. Called up an agency that had very good reviews when I came back from the doctors. Thought you might need someone for today to watch Freddie."

Louis leaned back in his chair, took his tea and sipped on it thoughtfully. Niall couldn't take the silence.

"I am so so sorry Louis, I know I didn't had any right and I would completely understand if you want to fire me but please let me at least finish the week so that I have time to find a new job and..."

"Hold on, hold on!", Louis leaned forward on his desk again and looked at him with big eyes.

"Fire you? Jesus, hell no! Is that why you are so nervous? Why on earth do you think I would do that?"

Niall looked at him with his brows furrowed and started to play nervously with the hem of his jacket.

"I fired one of your employees without your permission, watched your son without you knowing and even went to the doctor without even consulting you."

Niall closed his eyes and breathed through his nose.

Louis watched him with curiosity.

"Niall?"

"Yes", he still had his eyes closed.

"Thank you."

He opend them with surprise.

"What?"

"Thank you", Louis looked amused. "I don't think I ever said that before and I should have, especially after yesterday. Thank you of taking care of my son. What you did what was right. And thank you for making sure that I am not a complete fuck up."

"I am not fired?", he asked again quietly.

"No you idiot, you are not. In fact, Freddie quite likes you, which is rare because he usually hates everyone, so I have to keep you around a bit longer."

"Thank you so much Louis", Niall breathed out in relief.

"Stop doing that", Louis said and finally started his computer, "do you not have to colour code some emails or something?"

Niall was actually too relieved to say anything else and made his way out of the office without replying to the remark. When he sat on his desk chair, he slumped down. Not fired. Thank god.

 

The new nanny was a success and Freddie took well to her although he still would have preferred his dad. Louis would have preferred that as well, but unfortunately no one was asking him if he wanted to behave like an adult or not. Niall became a proper asset not only to his work but also his life. That guy was a genius when it came down to getting Louis to do things he actually didn't wanted to do. In return, he tried to make Louis's work life as easy as possible, organised him the nicest food for lunch and somehow, started to organise his private life as well. It seemed that there wasn't even a pre-Niall life for Louis at this point.

"Don't forget to call that guy from Mitchell Corporates and you still have that email from Emily Staford to answer."

"I know", Louis said amused while he watched Niall putting on his coat and fussing over some files.

"You should really look into some of the music classes I looked up for Freddie. There are perfect for his age, easy going and it would give him something else to see than just the park and your house."

"I'll do it on the weekend."

"I picked up your stuff from the dry cleaners earlier today and brought it over to your house, so you have something for your meeting on monday."

"Didn't you wanted to leave sooner today?"

"Yeah, yeah", Niall huffed and was leaning in the doorframe of the office, "I have the feeling that I've forgotten something."

"I am pretty sure, you haven't. Your OCD wouldn't let that happen."

Niall rolled his eyes but had a smile on his face.

"Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

"Actually yes", Louis looked up.

"Shoot."

"Turn off your workphone and enjoy the weekend. That's an order."

"You're impossible", Niall laughed and left with a wave.

"Get laid!", Louis yelled after him. He still heard Niall laughing before he entered the elevator.

 

When his friend Andy dragged him out on Saturday night, he was actually relieved. He still remembered the good old days when he went on the pull every weekend and although he loved Freddie, he needed a bit time to himself every once in a while (although Niall started to force him into this yoga class every tuesday morning, so he could get something else onto his mind, but he usually slept through it).

They wanted to head into this club and go for drinks in the new bar beforehand. Besides Andy, his friend from school Harry tagged along, who was the one suggesting the bar.

Louis was thoroughly excited for his first pint and downed half of it before the others even started. He offered to order a new round before the others had the chance to finish theirs and Louis loved this. He felt a buzz going through him and he just knew that this was going to be a fantastic night.

He squeezed through the people and made his way to the counter. The blond guy working behind it had his back to him and was going through some of the bottles. When he turned around, Louis huffed out a breath of surprise.

"Fuck", was all Niall could say and stared at his boss.

"I am not sure what the social protocol for this situation is, but I am actually just here to get three pints", Louis said, out of words to say anything else.

"Ok", was all Niall said and turned around to get the glasses. Louis leaned an elbow on the counter and observed him. He had never seen Niall like this. He wore black skinny jeans, that were ripped at the knees and a black tank top, that showed way too much of his pale skin. His hair was all tousled, from the heat of the pub and because there were no products in it. He looked hot.

"Please don't fire me", was the next thing Niall said when he put the three pints down in front of Louis. He looked a bit anxious and started playing with his hands again.

"When will you understand that I couldn't even fire you, if my life dependet on it. I don't think I can get through my day without you anymore", Louis said with a shrug.

"But", he continued and could see how Niall stiffened again, "we do have to talk about this."

"I have a break in ten minutes - maybe I can join you for a fag outside?", Niall said and had his head hanging low. Louis didn't like how beat down the blond looked but simply nodded and brought the beer to his friends before excusing himself again.

He went to the back alley and waited for Niall. It wasn't even ten minutes before the door opened and Niall stepped out. He had put on a hoodie and a beanie and he looked proper cosy and not business like at all.

"Hey", he greeted in a small voice, his face guarded, unsure of what would be happening.

"No ones firing you", Louis said again with rolling eyes.

"I just want to know about it."

Niall shrugged his shoulders.

"I work here from time to time. Need a bit of money."

"Are we not paying you enough?"

"No!", Niall was quick to say and Louis was sure that it was more because he was still afraid of loosing his job. "No, it's not that. I just need a bit extra every once in a while."

"Why?"

Niall looked on his shoes and shifted his weight from foot to foot, his bottom lip worrying between his teeth.

"Alright", Louis sighed, "how often?"

"Not too often", Niall avoided the question.

"Niall, how often?" Louis voice became demanding.

"Three out of four weekends. Occasionally during the week."

And Louis remembered, thinking that Niall looked tired in the morning every so often and he just thought it was because they were close to a deadline or stressed out with meetings.

"That's way too often Niall", Louis said softly and out of instinct he took Nialls hand. "When do you sleep?"

"I get enough rest, it's not a problem."

This was absolutely not ok with Louis. He knew that Niall worked overtime often enough in the office and then working another 15h or more hours per week in the night?

"What do I have to do to get you quitting this job? I can organise a payraise for you."

Obviously money was an issue. The fear of losing his job every time something happened didn't came out of nowhere and if Niall worked another job he must be in need of cash.

"No, please don't worry about me. I can handle this. I promise that it won't affect my work."

"I am less concerned about the work than about you. This isn't healthy Niall."

Niall just shrugged his shoulders again and Louis looked at him and not for the first time, he did not only see a perfectly organised coworker but a lad his age that struggled with life as well.

"Can I give you a hug?"

Niall let out a sound of surprise but opened his arms.

Louis didn't hesitate and wrapped his arms around Nialls shoulders. After a second of hesitation, Niall settled into the hug.

"You let me know if there is anything that I can do for you", he mumbled into Nialls neck and felt the nod of the blond.

Louis tighted his embrace for a second.

"I mean it Niall. If there is anything, please let me know.

"Ok", Niall said and started to loosen the hug.

"That was actually nice", Louis grinned. This time, it was Niall who rolled his eyes.

"So, I'll get drinks for free for the rest of the night now, right?"

"In your dreams", Niall laughed.

 

This was by far the worst day of the week. Screw it, make it the worst day of the month. If he would have to sit another minute in his fathers office to listen how much of a failure he was, he would burst. And stomp on the ground like a toddler. When his father dismissed him with a wave of his hand, he couldn't leave any quicker if he would have tried.

When he stumbled into his office, he noticed that it was empty. He threw a look out to the desks in the hall, but Niall was nowhere to be seen. He collected his things to go home and then found a post in Nialls neat handwriting sticking on his desktop.

_Your nanny got sick and left early._

_I'll collect Freddie from music class and we're waiting at home for you._

_Left a message on your phone as well but you've probably not seen it._

Niall

Ace! If Niall was at his house, this meant that there would be a nice dinner waiting for him. It didn't happen too often, but every once in a while, Niall had to drop something off or pick something up from the house and stayed for dinner. Turns out, he is a fantastic cook and Freddie loves Nialls calm nature and takes to him quite well. As in every other aspect of Louis life, Nialls fits right in.

So, when he entered his house half an house later, he smelled lasagne and couldn't quite handle the bubble of happiness in his stomache when he saw his son in Nialls arms in his kitchen, singing along to 'Somebody that I Used to Know.'

He dropped his bags and entered the kitchen.

"Daddy", his son squeeled and run into his arms, after Niall set him down.

"Aloha, you are way later than expected", Niall greeted him. He had his bottom up open so that Louis could see his shirt underneath and the sleeves were rolled up.

"The lasagne will be ready in a minute, so you're right in time."

"Thanks a billion, Niall. You're staying, right?"

Niall glanced at the clock, but actually used the time to figure out if it was approbiate to stay after 7pm at his boss's house but then, they've crossed the line so often, it really doesn't matter anymore.

"Sure", the blond shrugged and sat down. Louis sat down opposite of him and put Freddie into his lap. Although he was happy to be home, the day still lasted on his shoulders.

"Are you ok?", Niall said after Louis just listened quietly to Freddies bubbling for ten minutes without much of an reaction beside a 'hm' here and there. He usually was very animated with his son and his sparkly personality was shining through the room.

"It was just a really long day."

"I know, I am really sorry", Niall made a grimace while putting the lasagne on plates, "I knew that it was a bit too much today but the stupid secretary from Fullerton refused to move the meeting to another day."

Louis waved him off.

"Don't worry Niall, it's not your fault. It was my father who made me wanna punch someone today."

Niall sat down quietly and looked at Louis exhausted face. He didn't like it. Of course, he noticed how hard Tomlinson Senior was on his son and he didn't thought that it was justified.

"What happened in the meeting?", Niall asked carefully.

Louis started to dig into his food and tried to ignore Nialls observant look on him.

"The usual. Three accusations of failure, two of laziness and a long speech about my utter incompetence for this job."

Niall froze.

"This is not okay."

Louis didn't say much and helped Freddie to smash his lasagne.

"Don't worry Niall, I am very much used to it."

"No, it's not ok."

Louis looked up at the firm voice of the blond. The blue eyes of his opponent were looking straight at him.

"You are really good at your job", before Louis could interfer, Niall stopped him and continued, "No Louis, really, I don't think you realise how capable you actually are. You are handling the contracts better then the majority of the other employees in your position although you are half their age. Yes, you could improve one thing or another, but considering that you hate that job, you are doing extraordinary well."

"I don't hate it..."

"You do though", Niall said with a small smile. "And I think you would outdo yourself if you would be doing something you actually love. Don't let your father talk you down."

Louis could feel a warm feeling settling into his stomach and he felt a bit as if he had two glasses of champagne at once.

"I am only capable because you are organising my life."

Niall shrugged.

"I am just helping you, but don't forget that you are doing the actual work yourself. And your father can't deny that."

Louis looked at him with a warm expression.

"This is your 'can we hug' face, isn't it?", Niall laughed and Louis joined in.

"Yes, please", he said and got up. He put his arms around Niall and pressed his face into his neck without hesitation.

"You are great, Louis, don't forget that."

"You are pretty great yourself", Louis mumbled.

"Hey", came small protest from Freddie and when they looked up, he had his arms stretched out.

"Oi, come here bug."

And with that, Louis collected his son in his arms and went back to hug Niall, who just wrapped his arms around the two of them.

 

"Sick?"

"Yes, sick, Mr. Tomlinson. Like in, not feeling well and not coming to work."

"Not coming to work?"

"Mr. Tomlinson, I am pretty sure that you will survive one day without Mr. Horan. He told me, to let you know, that he wrote you a long handover email with all necessary information for the next two days."

"Two days?!", Louis exclaimed and basically threw his hands in the air.

When the secretary Mrs. Arthur started to ignore him, he turned around with an angry huff and got his phone out.

"Two days?!", he said before Niall even had to chance to say anything on the other end of the line.

He just answered with an amused laugh.

"Louis, I have absolute trust in you, that you will not burn down the building in those two days. At least not as long you don't actually try it. All your appointments are in your calendar and I am still handling your phone and email contacts, so there shouldn't be anything urgent that you have to deal with yourself."

"How sick are you? You don't sound too bad."

"Ah, it's nothing bad, just ate something funny on the weekend. Shouldn't have gone for that new Sushi place."

"Hm, I don't like it."

"I don't like it either, but I'll be back before you notice it."

"I hardly believe that."

"Have a good day Lou."

When Lou came home this evening, it was actually at a decent time. Freddie jumped into his arms and babbled on about his day. Sara, the new nanny, showed him all the pictures that they drew over the day.

"What is this one, bug?", he asked his son and pointed at one paper with three lines, that could be people or abstract form of art. Or both.

"That you an' me an' Ni."

"Oh, bug, that is so good. We can give that to Niall, if you want."

"Yes!", he squealed, "Now!"

"Not now, Freddie-Bunny."

"No Ni?"

"Not today. Later in the week maybe."

And that was the moment when he realised how much the lines with him and Niall had blurred. Freddie looked ready to cry.

"No Ni?", he asked again and his voice wavered a bit.

"Maybe we can visit him?", Louis really needed to grow a backbone. As soon as possible.

"Now?", Freddies eyes sparkled. Louis threw a look at the clock. Not even 6pm yet.

"Yes, now", he decided and for whatever reason, he felt relieved that he would see Niall today. And check on him. And then he probably had to get himself checked out, because he shouldn't feel so excited to see his assistant.

He actually had to call into the office, to get Nialls address - how did that never came up in the four month that Niall was working with him? He did mention that his flat wasn't too exciting and that he would look for something better at some point, but when Louis pulled up in front of a house in a shabby neighbourhood, he was considering an immediate pay raise for the blond. This house looked like the drug dealer would live on one floor and the junkies on the next.

The front door was open and Louis knew that the appartment was on the third floor. When he saw the staircase, he picked Freddie up, because he was too afraid the toddler would grab at things and catch something nasty.

When he stood in front of Nialls flat, he became a bit self-conscious. Maybe he should have called ahead? Well, it was too late for that now and they were too far in their friendship to actually care about these things. At least, that's what Louis hoped.

He couldn't find a doorbell, so he simply knocked on the door.

"Who is it?", Louis heard Niall call after a bit of shuffling behind the door. No peephole then. At least Niall didn't open the door for everyone, which was an actual relief to Louis considering the neighbourhood.

"It's Louis."

It became completely still behind the door and then he could hear Niall curse.

"Mate, if you're not actually sick and just wanted a day off, I won't be mad", Louis said after a minute where nothing happened, "just please open the door."

He noticed how Freddie started to squirm in his arms.

"Freddie has a present for you", and that did the trick. Niall adored Freddie and the other way round. Sometimes, Louis even felt left out,when the two went on about Lilo &   
Stitch and their passion for music.

"Ok, I am going to open the door and you are not allowed to comment."

"What?", Louis asked confused.

"Just promise, Lou", he could hear Nialls hand on the doorknob.

"Ok ya, I promise."

With a bit of hesitation, the door opened slowly and Niall appeared in the doorway.

"Niall...", Louis said aghast.

In front of him was Niall, in sweatpants, a hoodie and a beanie on his head - a blooming black eye on the right side of his face.

"Ni", Freddie yelled and made grabby hands, completely ignoring the shock in his fathers face.

"Hi bud", Niall said softly and took the boy from Louis. He hissed a bit and he seemed to favour his left leg and that got Louis out of his trance.

"What the hell happened?", he asked while he pushed himself into the flat, completely ignoring any boundaries that could have been left.

"You promised not to comment on it."

"Ah, bullshit, you knew I would still say something."

"Da, picture, picture!"

Freddie wouldn't let go of Niall, until he gave him his present.

Louis tried to pry his eyes away from Niall and got the paper out of his pocket.

"Freddie made this for you today."

"Did you now?", Niall said cheerfully and looked at the boy full of glee. "Thank you so much, buddy!"

He led them to the one couch in the single bedroom apartment and Louis would make sure to order the pay raise first thing tomorrow morning. The flat wasn't just shit, it was disgustingly bad. It was kept tidy and clean, just as he expected from Niall but even with cleaning he couldn't get rid of the mold or the wallpaper that was coming off the yellow walls. Niall seemed to be sleeping on a mattress on the floor and the only proper furniture was the couch on the opposite wall. Even his work suits were just on a hangars next to the bed. No closet, no cupboard, no nothing.

Freddie didn't care about all of this and started to play with Nialls hair. He was fascinated by the blond since he didn't knew any other person with that hair colour.

Louis sat carefully down next to the two of them. He couldn't help himself and reached out to Nialls face. With his fingertips he touched the dark colours next to his eyes and Niall closed them with a guarded expression on his face. He took a deep breath and it came out a bit shattered, before he turned his head to face Louis.

"How did this happen, Ni?", Louis voice was soft and quiet.

"It doesn't matter", was the mumbled answer.

"It does matter. It actually matters a lot."

They were quiet for a bit and Niall slowly buried his nose in Freddies hair. Louis got butterflies in his stomach again, when he saw Niall with his son like this.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?"

The blond just shook his head slowly, to not disturb Freddie in his happy babbling.

"Are you lying?"

That Niall didn't make a move was answer enough.

"Where else are you injured Niall?", Louis asked very quietly again. He felt like trying to get to a hurt deer, that was caught in a spotlight and any movement could scare it away. This was the first time that he could see this vulnerable and delicate side of Niall.

"One of my rips might be a bit bruised. And my knee is acting up, but it does that every once in a while, so it isn't too bad."

"Ni, no good?", Freddie asked when he caught up with the mood.

"I am all good, bud", Niall smiled at Freddie. His eyes didn't smile with him, but the boy was too young to notice these kind of things.

"How can I help you?", Louis asked and scooted closer to Niall on the couch.

"You can't fix this, Lou", Niall said with a small smile. Now it was his turn to reach his hand out to caress Louis's cheek. Without noticing, the brunet leaned into his hand.

"It's alright", Niall said and nodded along as if this would make it all better. In lack of any other response, Louis wrapped his arms around the two boys in front of him. He tried to be carefull with Niall but he also wanted to hug him tight, to let him know that he was there for him. He knew that he got the message when Niall buried his face in his neck.

"I think you should stay home for the week", he mumbled after a moment of silence.

"I am fine. I can work, I just wanted to wait a bit to be able to cover my face with make up."

"You shouldn't have to", Louis whispered.

Niall shrugged his shoulders. "It's no big deal."

"It is to me", Louis said and started to get up, "and now let me organise some food. Have you eaten?"

"Now, I am not too hungry. And my kitchen is shit, by far not as nice to cook in as yours."

"I always knew that you are just using me for my house Horan", and that actually made Niall laugh, even if it sounded a bit wet and made Louis chest hurt a bit.

"Take away it is then."

 

"You really shouldn't get another one."

"No, I can and I will. Who is going to stop me?"

"I am", Niall laughed and continued to clean the glasses. Louis was looking at him with glassy eyes and then at his empty glas.

"But it is saturday", he whined as if that could be the an excuse for everything.

"And because I want you to enjoy your sunday, I will not let you have another drink."

"You are the worst barkeeper in the world!"

Louis would probably be more frightening if he would be able to actually sit straight on his bar stool. Niall just laughed again.

"How about me bringing you home?", he asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Nialler, I always knew, you wanted into my pants."

"I want in your pants!", said the drunken guy next to the brunette all of a sudden und Louis turned around too quickly and was only able to see a double version of the men next too him. When his vision cleared he realised that it didn't became any more attractive, so he just shrugged and turned back.

"I'd say you have to get in line, my friend", Niall said to the lad and handed him a water before he waved at Louis to get his jacket.

"Are you protecting my pants now, Mr. Horan?"

"They are well worth protecting", Niall snickered and came from behind the bar, backpack in his hand.

"Aren't you the best assistant in the world now", he slurred and put an arm over Nialls shoulder.

"Did you came with your car, Lou?"

"Might have", he answered and actually wasn't too sure.

"Do I have to check those precious pants of yours for keys?"

"Strictly professional of course, Mr. Horan."

"Of course", Niall huffed amused. Louis thought this was hilarious. He loved this. He loved Niall. He loved this bar. He loved this night. He loved the world.

He barely noticed how Nialls hand slipped into his left pocket before it left him again. He only heard the jingle of the keys and felt tingles where his friends hand was just seconds before. When he looked up the next time, he stared straight at his car. Did he really park direktly in front of the pub?

"I am happy to see that you enjoyed yourself, mate."

Niall opened the door for him and helped him to get inside.

"Do we need to collect Harry?", Louis remembered vaguely that he didn't came by himself today.

"Harry left ages ago."

"When?"

"Before you started the whiskey."

"Ah, that was really ages ago. Did he left by himself?"

"There was a lovely blond hanging off his arm."

"Lad or lady?"

"Lady this time."

"Good for him."

The drive to the house was quiet and Louis nearly nodded off and hit his head on the window when he tried to stay awake.

"What would I do without you?", he started when he looked at Niall, driving him home in his car.

"Probably take a cab, like every other normal person would do", the other replied amused.

"No, I mean in life. What would I do without you in life?"

"Louis Tomlinson, Ladies and Gentlemen, the man of great speeches at 3am."

Niall snickered at his own joke and turned into Louis parking spot in front of his house.

"We're here mate."

Louis looked at him and tried to concentrate on one of the three versions of the blond in front of him.

"How do you get home?"

"I'll walk. Or take a cab", he thought about it for a second, "I'll probably walk."

"Stay here", Louis blurted out before he could stop it.

"What? No, I can walk, it's no bother."

"It's like, half an hour and with your luck, your neighbours are going to stab you or something."

"It is really not as bad", Niall said with a reassuring smile. His flat has been a touchy subject ever since he refused the pay raise, the stupid fucker. Louis knows that he'll get it done eventually, he just needed an opportunity to make it possible without it looking like pity. He tried looking at Niall again and damn his intoxicated state, the blond looked so good. He liked him without glasses and all soft and boneless after work. No boundaries between them, no stupid office policy.

"Just stay in the guestroom."

"Lou, I really don't think..."

"Staaaaaaaay." When in doubt, use the method Freddie would get away with. And be drunk while doing so.

He could see Nialls resistance crumble.

"Come on, I promise you'll get the best night sleep. And I don't want you walking home at this hour and even if you promise to take a cab, you wouldn't take it."

Niall took a deep breath.

"Ok, well then."

"Yes!" Louis clapped his hands.

"Better be the fucking best bed ever!"

 

Although they started to hang out as friends as well, it was the time before christmas when they didn't had time for anything outside of work. The annual account was due before the end of the year and Mr. Tomlinson Senior send Louis (with Niall) off for a couple of business trips within the UK and the US. Although he loved traveling, Louis hated to be away from Freddie for more than a day. His days were packed with meeting and he only payed attention to them, because Niall would poke him with a sharpie from behind, should he start to doze off. And although he knew that already, it became more obvious that he couldn't do without the blond anymore. Niall took notes for him in the meetings, dragged him to the hotel in the evening when he started to stumple over his own feet, made sure that he ate properly and had a new photo of Freddie every two hours on his phone. Louis had no idea how Niall could keep his energy level up himself – he was always awake before Louis and stayed around longer than him.

„Drink a lot and go straight to bed – otherwise the jetlag will kill you“, Niall warned him, while opening the door for him. „Don't stay up too long on youtube or twitter or facebook.“

„You are no fun“, Louis mumbled half asleep and stumbled out of the car. As if he would have any chance against the jetlag. He could feel it already in his blood and mind – stupid US and it's time difference. With the boot already open, Niall got his suitcase out.

„Tell Freddie 'Hi' from me“, he said while pressing the suitcase into Louis hand.

„Not coming in for a coffee?“, Louis asked surprised. They just spend a whole week practically glued together in New York, trying to get the big deal from Broston Enterprise. It felt weird too let Niall go back to his own home.

„Neither one of us drinks coffee, Lou“, Niall snickered, „And I have my own flat and life that I have to attend to.“

„Don't tell me that your mattress is nicer than the bed in my guest room.“

„It's not as bad and now go“, the blond made a shooing wave at Louis and gave him a light push on the shoulder.

„Give Freddie a kiss and sleep tight.“

Louis just waved at him, while dragging his suitcase up the stairs to the front door.

He didn't even saw that Niall climbed back into the car and their driver Simon was gone before Louis could turn around. With a shrug, he opened the front door and was greeted with a whirlwind of brown hair.

„Daaadddyyy!“

Freddie squealed and climbed up his leg before he had a chance to catch him and he just had to laugh at the sight.

„Hi munchkin“, he said, while finally scooping the child into his arms. „How was your week?“

„Oh Daddy, soooo much to tell!“, and with that Louis knew that he wouldn't have an early night.

When he woke up the next morning, his head felt heavy and there was some sort of buzzing happening in his ears. He tried to turn around in bed, but it felt like climbing the Mount Everest so he just stayed put. Without opening his eyes he felt around the bed and had a short, irrational panic when he didn't felt Freddie next to him. His son refused to go into his own bed last night and with his big brown eyes, he sneaked his way into Louis's. It took a lot of effort to open his eyes and when he did, he actually started to proper panic.

The clock read 11:23am.

He was royally fucked. He hadn't overslept this bad since the first half year of his job when his dad threatened to throw him in the dump and cut all the help for Freddie, if he didn't start to make an effort.

When Louis sat up, he felt dizzy and had to close his eyes again. Opening them, he could see a glass with juice next to his alarm. Weird. He looked closer and could see that there were two pills and a note next to the glass.

_Juice for the strength, paracetamol for the head and a heart, ..well for the heart ;)_

Next to Nialls handwriting (which he would be able to tell at this point) was a sloppy drewn heart, which was definitely from his son. He took the tablets and drank the juice and started the quest for clothes.

After squeezing into some sweatpants and a hoodie, he made his way downstairs. Coming closer to the kitchen, he could hear the quiet music of the lion king running and followed the noise to the kitchen.

The sight was a surprise.

Niall and his son sat across from each other, both of them leaned over a whole stash of papers. Freddie drew enthusiastically a lot of hearts in different colours (Niall must have showed him how to do them because this was definitely a new shape for him) while the blond went through the 120 pages long contract for the meeting with Houston Business next week. Which was supposed to be his work.

Furthermore, there was food cooking on the stove and he could see that the Irish made a fantastic smelling soup. When he looked at him again, he saw that Niall was not dressed in his usual office clothes but a simple shirt and sweatpants. Louis's shirt and sweatpants. In his hazy mind, Louis couldn't find anything wrong with that. Niall looked like he straight _belonged_ into his clothes and his kitchen and his home.

„What...?“, he started, not sure what he wanted to say in the end. Niall looked up when he heard a voice.

„Hey, you're awake“, he said with a soft smile.

Freddie turned around as well and again, he had a handfull of his son in his arms. It was a bit more exhausting than usual and he let him down rather quickly.

„How are you feeling? Here sit down“, Niall put a hand on his shoulder and guided him to a chair and Louis didn't even knew how to protest and before he knew it, there was a cup of tea in front of him as if it just waited for him to wake up.

„That's not yorkshire“, was all he could muster.

„No, it's ginger with lemon and will do you good“, Niall said cheerful and sat down again.

„This is my work.“

The brunette pointed at the stack of paper.

„Yeah, but it's due in a week and you'll be home for that, so I thought I'd get a headstart, so you just have to go through it for the meeting.“

Louis looked at him with big eyes.

„What are you doing here?“

Niall looked a bit unsure again, as if he was afraid of having made a mistake, but then straightened his posture visibly as if he would stand up for whatever was done wrong.

„Freddie called me this morning“, with an astonished expression Louis turned to his son.

„I don't think he actively tried to call me“, Niall continued, „but I was your recent contact so he just had to press the green button. He must have seen you using the phone, so he knew that he needed to talk when I called your name. First thought, it was by pure accident but then I couldn't hear you anywhere in the backround. Got me a bit worried, so I thought I might check on you“, Niall cheek turned lightly pink.

„You were out of it with a pretty high fever. Freddie had turned your bedroom upside down and brought all his toys to your room so he could play right next to you. I gave you some paracetamol then, but you didn't even notice. I didn't wanted to leave you completely alone and I don't think it's approbiate for the nanny so I gave her off for today and stayed around.“

Louis didn't even knew what to say to this.

„You are wearing my clothes“, was all he could bring out while still staring at Niall in his 'Vans off the Walls' shirt. The blond turned proper pink now.

„Well, you never told me that your son doesn't approve of porridge.“

Louis laughed a bit, but felt his dry throat, so he took a sip of the tea.

„Threw a proper fit, didn't he?“, he asked amused and winked at his son.

„Never seen anyone getting this aggravated about some porridge“, Niall said dead serious.

„I did your laundry so I thought, I take some fresh clothes from you. I'll clean them as soon as possible.“

„You did my laundry?“, Louis asked unhappily. God, he really didn't needed his assistant going through his dirty pants.

„Nha, don't worry, I like cleaning. Takes my mind of things.“

„You have a very weird mind, Mr. Horan.“

Nialls grin made the lines around his eyes crinkle.

„I made you some soup, so I'd say you eat a bit of that and then off to bed again.“

„But the report...“

„You would fall asleep while doing it anyway and then I would had to do it, so let's save us the time and get you back on track.“

With wonder in his eyes, he followed Nialls movement in his kitchen and was happy when there was a bowl of chicken soup placed in front of him and his son. He really could get used to this.

 

It was the week before Christmas and they were just on the way back from the last meeting of the year. Louis was relaxed and leaned back in the seat while discussing his christmas shopping. He really tried to stop him, but Niall already bought one or two presents for Freddie and did some more of Louis' usually christmas chores (sneaking behind his back while he was held up in meetings, the little shit).

Leaning his head to the side, he could see how relaxed Niall was next to him. It was already late in the afternoon and there were just going back to the office because it was more convenient and Niall forgot his bag there. Louis promised to drive him home in his own car afterwards because he had to pick up something for Lottie in the area. Niall argued that he could have picked it up for him, but the doncaster lad just liked the opportunity to do something nice to help Niall out every once in a while.

„Thanks Simon“, Niall said when they arrived back at the office and they got out of the company car.

When the two boys came closer to the entrance they could hear noise from the inside. Well, this was unusual. Coming closer, Louis could see that there was a man at the front desk throwing a gigantic fit. He had his hand already on the handle to get in and turned his head around to Niall to ask him what he though about that, but the look on the blondes face made him pause. He was white as a sheet.

„Fuck“, the blond cursed and stopped in his tracks. With a surprised expression, Louis looked back at the man in the hallway who was in the middle of throwing a plant at a window and then back at Niall.

„You know him?“, he asked cautiously. Before he got a reply, Niall visibly collected himself and stepped around Louis to go into the building. Louis hurried after him.

„What do you think you are doing?“, the blond yelled at the other lad and with a stunned face, Louis watched how the guy stopped destroying the reception area within a second and focused his eyes on Niall. Louis couldn't help but grab at Nialls arm, as if to pull him away quickly in case the black haired guy would attack him all of a sudden.

„You didn't answered my texts or calls“, the boy said and for the first time, Louis could see that he was actually quite a small lad. Not small by size but he had a thin frame and seemed to have no muscle mass, which came as a surprise considering the damage he had done. The hallway looked like a hurricane went through it.

„Because I didn't wanted to. Now go“, Niall asnwered him with a firm voice. His face was motionsless.

„Babe, you have to listen to..“

„No!“, Niall said loudly and interrupted his opponent before he could finish his sentence.

„Zayn, just do me a favour and leave.“

The Zayn guy looked unsure on what to do next after his apparant immediate plan didn't work. He swayed a bit and Louis was wondering if he was sober or not.

„I haven't seen you in forever Nialler. Almost two month“, Zayn said softly and came closer and Niall flinched and took a step back although he was still nearly ten meters away.

„There is nothing to talk about, Zayn“, he said, still without his voice giving anything away.

„There goddam is!“, the black haired guy roared all of a sudden and Louis stepped closer to Niall and clasped his hand more tightly to his arm without noticing. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see that Alana from the front desk was already calling for security.

„Stay away!“, Niall raised his voice.

„You don't tell me what to do!“, Zayn yelled back and before anyone of them noticed he threw one of the bigger pieces of the broken plant pot at them. Louis used the grip he had on the blond to just drag him to the side. The piece made a cringing noise when it hit the glass of the front door. Louis starred at the broken window, both of his hands on Niall now and when he looked up Zayn was coming straight to them.

„Here!“, he called the security when he saw them arriving from a side entrance and while he was distracted, Niall pushed him aside and ducked away from a punch himself. Louis turned around with horror and found himself to the back of Zayn, who was facing Niall.

Before he could make a proper move though, security was on him and he was not able to reach for the blond. Not for lack of trying though.

„I will find you, Niall, you know I will!“, he yelled angrily and tried to fight the security people who forced him out on the street, „I don't care where you're hiding and if you work in this fancy place – I'll always find you!“.

With that note he was dragged out of the door and Louis watched in wonder, how he kept on pushing and yelling at the employees. When he turned to look into the reception again, he caught a glimpse of Niall, who was ashen and followed the scene on the street with his eyes. Quickly he moved next to his friend and put a hand on his arm again.

„Come on“, he whispered softly and tried to get Niall away from this. It took a bit of coaxing to get a reaction out of the blond, who seemed nearly numb, something he had never seen before. With a hand on the small of his back he guided him to the stairs, fearing the close walls of the elevators too much, knowing that this would cause even more distress for Niall. When they arrived on the floor of his office, he made sure to keep in contact with his friend and to bring him to the office.

„Mr. Tomlinson“, someone called behind him and without turning around, he just said „not now!“

„Mr. Tomlinson“, his follower tried again and with a small turn of his head he could see that it was one of the security people. He stopped shortly and poked Niall in the stomache.

„Go ahead into my office“, he said softly.

„No, it's alright“, the blond shook his head, „I'll just go and grab my stuff and head home as planned.“

Louis stopped him with both his hands on Nialls shoulder. The blond wouldn't meet his eyes.

„Go into my office. That is an order.“ His opponent just nodded.

He watched Niall slipping into the room and turned his attention to the worker.

„Mr. Tomlinson, about the incident...“

When he came into the office five minutes later, he couldn't see his assitant anywhere and panicked a bit, thinking he sneaked out without him noticing. Walking further into the office, he caught a glimpse of a shoe and was relieved that Niall was leaning against the back of his desk on the ground, his knees pulled to his chest, his head on his arms.

„Hey“, he whispered and slowly sat down next to him.

„Are you alright?“, he broke the silence after a couple of minutes. The man next to him made a movement that could be considered a nod.

„You don't have to talk about it.“

That got Niall to look up and Louis could see how hard he was fighting to keep the emotions off his face.

„I am really sorry Lou“, he started.

„Don't be“, Louis waved it off but Niall shook his head again.

„I am so sorry about the caused damage, poor Alana must have been frightened to death. I will pay for all the things he destroyed.“

„You will do no such things“, Louis said sternly, „there is something called 'insurance' which will do that.“

„You have an insurance for douchebags damaging the property?“, Niall asked with a small smile, his head still hung low.

„We have insurances for all kind of douchebags“, which got a small chuckle out of Niall.

They sat in silence for a bit and the brunette was in the middle of getting more comfortable on the ground when the boy next to him said quietly „You can ask if you want.“

„I don't want to make you uncomfortable“, he whispered back.

„Can't get much worse now, can it?“ and with that, he knew that his friend was more himself again.

He took the chance.

„Who was that?“

The blond took a deep breath.

„My ex.“

„Well you have a horrible taste in man, Horan“, Louis deadpanned and was glad that Niall only snickered about it again.

„He can be the most charming lad in the world. Very artsy, good with his hands, a beautiful mind.“

„A horrible drunk?“

„A fucking horrible drunk“, Niall confirmed bitter and looked on the ground with an angered expression. Louis took a breath to muster up the courage for his next question.

„Was he the one giving you the bruises two month ago.“

Niall nodded hesitatentely.

„Found out which bar I worked in. Waited for me outside when I closed up and was alone.“

Louis looked at him alarmed.

„And you still work there? Niall, the lad seems proper dangerous!“

„Don't worry“, he waved it off, „My friend Liam who owns the bar, gave him a proper beating when he tried it the next time. And I won't quit. I am done hiding.“

His voice was firm again and Louis knew him long enough to recognize the resistance he could show if he made a decision.

„How long are the two of you seperated?“

„When did I started the job here?“, Niall asked in return and looked Louis in question.

„Like, six month ago?“

„Must be seven month then“, he nodded to himself and looked like he was counting it over in his head.

„You are all done with him?“

Niall snorted at that.

„Won't be done with him for a long while“, he said defeated and leaned back at the desk.

„Why's that?“, Louis asked him puzzled.

„Zayn used to play.“

„Play...?Poker?“

„Black Jack. And he made debth. A lot of them. And he used my social security card to get a loan from the bank to pay his creditors.“

„How much?“, the brunette asked alarmed.

„A mere thirty thousand pound“, and while saying that Niall looked completely over this, as if he wouldn't even fight the fact that he would have to pay 30 grand for his ex boyfriend.

„Oh Niall..Is this why you work at the bar as well?“

„Yeah. Thought I might get as much done as possible“, he confessed and started pulling at his cuticles.

This time Louis didn't even ask Niall before he pulled him into a hug. It was a bit awkward because they were crowded against each other on the floor but they made do and Niall pushed his head in the crook of Louis neck. The brunet tightened his embrace and buried his face in Nialls hair.

„Come home with me today.“

He felt how Niall shook his head but didn't move away from him.

„Yes, you will. And I will cook for you and we'll watch a nice movie and you're going to sleep in a proper bed tonight.“

„You don't have to do this“, Niall finally said and started to look up.

„Let me take care of you for a bit“, Louis simply said and pulled Niall back into his arms.

 

„Tosh and La Gino were closed but I snatched some of the last pizza's from Muckcrackers, so no complaining about mushrooms.“

„Jesus, that's why it took so long - I thought you made a run for some last christmas shopping and were gulped in the excitement of people.“

„That was a very vivid description, but no, none of that“, Niall said with a smile and put the pizza box on Louis desk.

He had left the office door open, because he was waiting for an important phone call and didn't wanted to miss it because of lunch. And the floor was basically empty anyway, with it being Boxing Day and all.

„So is Freddie proper excited about Santa?“, Niall asked while he sat down on the visitor chair and grabbed a slice.

„Yeah, he's been a nutcase for days now. Wonder where he got that from.“

„I wouldn't have a clue“, Niall said fondly and with a smirk which made Louis laugh. After the Zayn incident the two of them became even closer, if that was even possible. It was as if the last barrier between them had been lifted and the only thing left was pure trust.

„You really shouldn't have gotten Freddie a present by the way.“

Niall just shrugged his shoulders.

„But I wanted to.“

„So what did you get him then?“, Louis asked beiläufig.

„You have to wait and find out, just like every one else“, the blond winked at him, but before Louis had the chance to answere back, there was a vehemend knock on the open office door.

„Doing nothing, I see“, Mr. Tomlinson Senior snarled and Niall could see how his son stiffened visibly.

„To what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting the common folks?“, Louis asked with forced calm.

„I want you do redo the report on the Maverick case.“

Niall clenched his teeth. The report was perfectly fine. He went through it himself several times, to make sure him and Louis did good work on it.

„Alright“, was all Louis said and got a post-it to write it down, „I'll do it after the holiday.“

„I want it on my desk on Monday.“

Louis looked at him in surprise.

„Today is Friday“, he simply answered.

„I am well aware of the week days. Don't tell me the concept of working on weekends is new for you.“

„Sir, it's Christmas“, Niall said quietly in the silence that followed after the announcement.

„I am also well aware of the calendar Mr. Horan, thank you very much. Louis, if you would have done a proper job the first time, you wouldn't have to do it again.“

„This is uncalled for“, Niall said and he was surprised by his own confidence in his voice.

„I don't think, I asked for your opinion“, he turned his eyes back to Louis, „stop doing slobby work and you wouldn't be in this situation. If you would put a bit more effort into it, I wouldn't have to clean after you.“

„This is uncalled for!“, Niall said again more firmly and he stood up to glare at the older man.

„Niall“, Louis yelled-whispered, his face twisted in something remotely close to horror.

„No“, Niall replied to him before he faced his father again, „this is not fair. Louis is doing a great job and he is working harder than many others on this floor. He was able to make more than twice as many deals as the rest of the others in his position. If you would get over your grudge you would be able to see what a fantastic person Louis is.“

There was an awkward silence following this, but Niall kept on staring him down.

„That was a very brave speech, Mr. Horan“, he said and Louis braced himself for whatever would come.

„You are fired.“

All the air left the brunets body.

„No!“, he cried out and looked with a shock to his father, who was completey unaffected by this. Niall next to him schooled himself into a neutral expression, but Louis could see the stubborness.

„Niall didn't meant it, Dad“, Louis tried, „c'mon, it's Christmas, you can't do this.“

„I very well can“, his father replied at the same time as Niall said „I absolutely meant that“ and Louis deflated.

„You will get a bonus as we are letting you go on such a short notice, Mr. Horan. You can collect it on Monday. Happy Christmas.“

As he turned to leave, a yell from Louis stopped him.

„I quit!“

„Louis“, Niall hissed and looked alarmed for the very first time.

Mr. Tomlinson turned to his son.

„What?“, he asked calmly.

„If you fire Niall, I will quit as well.“

„Louis don't“, the Irish one whispered again and made big eyes, but Louis just looked at his father with a fierce expression.

„Very well“, Mr. Tomlinson said. He even had a small smirk on his face.

„You have time to collect your things until Monday. You will not have access to the building after that. Tell Freddie a Merry Christmas from me.“

And with that he left the office.

„Oh Louis“, was all Niall said in shock, while he glided back onto the chair, „oh Louis, I am so sorry.“

„Don't be“, his opponent simply answered and sat down as well, „I hated this job anyway.“

„I shouldn't have said that“, Niall was still looking at him with a conflicted expression.

„I absolutely meant that, but I am sorry for getting us into trouble.“

Louis waved him off.

„It's not your fault and he shouldn't have fired you.“

„You really shouldn't have quit“, Niall mumbled and made a grimace. He drove his hand through his hair in a stressed manner. „What about Freddie?“

„Freddie will be happy, if I am home more often.“

With that, he shut down his computer, with a happy sigh. It actually felt good to just drop this job and leave it behind. When he looked up, he couldn't bear the look on Nialls face.

„None of that“, he said firmly and came around the desk, to pull the blond on his feet and in his arms.

They stood there without saying anything for a while.

„Thank you for standing up for me. I am sorry, that I got you fired“, he mumbled into Nialls neck. He just felt the shrug going through the boys body.

Without many more words, both of them packed their most important things and made their way to the carpark of the company.

„I'll drive you home, there is no point for you carrying the stuff in the underground.“

„Thanks Lou“, Niall said and threw the box with his belongings into the boot of the car.

With a satisfying feeling Louis drove out of the garage. He couldn't hold in his grin.

„You actually love to have quit, don't you?“, Niall laughed quietly next to him.

„Should have done it ages ago“, Louis confirmed and looked over to the passenger seat. He had enough savings to last him for a good while, so there was no urgent need for him to find a new job. He knew that it was a different thing for a Niall and although the lad next to him seemed quite relaxed, he knew that he would be in trouble soon.

„You know, that we'll figure something out, right?“, he said in the silence and before he could stop himself, he took Nialls hand right hand in his left.

„I'll be alright“, the blond said in a reassuring voice. „I can pick up more shifts in the bar until I find something proper again.“

„Hm“, Louis hummed and started to think about different alternatives already. There was no way that Niall could make a full living as a bartender, or at least not with the debth he had.

„Lou?“, Niall asked after a while and tugged a bit at the hand, he was still holding. Their fingers were interweened at this point.

„Yeah?“

„This is not the way to my flat.“

„Is it not?“, Louis asked innocently and he could feel Niall's eyes on him.

„No.“

„Must have taken a wrong turn at some point“, he lied through his teeth while driving on the motorway.

Niall didn't say anything until he saw the 'Airport' sign and Louis heard him gasp next to him.

„What is this all about, Lou?“

„You'll see“, he answered mysteriously with a grin on his face.

„If you are going to kidnap me to go to Vegas, I'll kill you, because I didn't had time to pillage my savings beforehand.“

Louis laughed out loud at that.

„None of that, I promise.“

When they turned to the airport, Louis could hear the boy next to him holding his breath in anticipation and gripping the hand tighter.

Louis got out of the car as soon as it parked and opened the passenger door before Niall had time to react.

„What is this all about?“, he asked suspicious.

„So“, Louis started while opening the boot and getting out a small carry on. When he pressed it into Nialls hand, he looked at it confused.

„That's not mine.“

„Yes it is“, Louis continued, „There are clothes for three days in it.“

„Why do I need that?“, Niall asked breathless.

„Because you are always around me, I didn't had a time to buy you a proper Christmas present. And believe the urge to buy you something proper, like a bed for example, was strong.“

Niall made an unhappy sound.

„I know I know, that's why I didn't do it. Bought you this instead.“

He opened a side pocket on the carry-on and got two flight tickets out of them.

Niall looked at them with big eyes.

„Happy Christmas, Nialler“, Louis said with a soft smile. Hesitatentely, Niall took the tickets and looked at them. He just had a small glance at the destination before he closed his eyes fiercely and pressed the tickets to his chest.

„You bought me tickets to Ireland“, he whispered, too afraid to wake up from this dream.

„I figured, you wouldn't have the money to buy some but I think everyone should spent Christmas with their family.“

Niall looked ready to burst out in tears.

„Oh no“, Louis shushed him and carressed his cheeks before any tears could fall.

„This is a good thing, Niall. I want you to enjoy yourself.“

„I can never repay you for this“, the blond mumbled and looked him straight into the eyes. He was so grateful for this.

„You don't have to“, Louis answered just as quietly, „You helped me so much in the last couple of month. And you are my best friend.“

„I don't think you understand, Lou“, Niall said and his eyes never wavered, „I haven't been home in three years. This means so much to me.“

And at that Louis couldn't hold it and pulled his friend into a tight hug.

„You earned it, Ni. You deserve all the good things in this world“, he said while pressing his eyes close as well, just concentrating on the feeling of the boy in his arms. Niall was slightly shaking.

„We'll figure the rest out when you come back“, he whispered and started to pull away a bit again. He put both of his hands on Nialls face and finally stroke the tears away with his thumps.

„We will“, he said firmly again and never stopped caressing Nialls face.

„And now, let's get you inside, so you won't miss your flight, love.“

But before he could move again to grab the suitcase, Niall hold him back at his wrist.

„Louis“, he spoke tentatevily.

And then, before Louis had time to answer that, he felt two soft lips pressed onto his. They tasted salty from the tears and Louis made a small surprised noise in the back of his throat, but relaxed into it immediately. The kiss was more a peck than anything else and lasted mabye three seconds but when Niall leaned back again, his lips were still tingeling.

„Thank you“, Niall said breathless.

 

Christmas was lovely. He couldn't remember the last time, he had such a relaxing time with his son. Louis hadn't realised the pressure he was under in his job and he literally felt as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders. It was just Freddie and him and he felt the most peaceful in ages.

On Christmas day, he received a photo via whatsapp of Niall and his family next to a christmas tree and the blond grinned from one cheek to the other. Louis looked at the photo with awe, happy that his present was the right for the blond.

Freddie and him made a right mess out of the house – they tried to bake (which they're both horrible at), so the kitchen looked like a disaster and there was wrapping paper literally everywhere. Louis even found some in the bathroom in the evening and didn't even questioned how it got there in the first place. Opening presents with Freddie was the best thing ever, the child was still excited about literally everything. Louis bought him (with a bit of help from Niall) half of a toy store and lots of new clothes. There was one present from Niall under the tree for Freddie and Louis watched fondly how careful his son handled it. He knew that it was from Uncle Ni, so it must be something special. When he got it unwrapped it revealed a Ukulele and Freddie squeeled with excitemend at the noises the instrument made.

Louis laughed and groaned at the same time. Now his house would be filled with awful ukele sounds for a good while until Freddie would loose his interest again.

„For you“, his son claimed and dropped a present into his lap.

„Is that from you, monkey?“, he asked surprised.

„Me and Ni“, he answered happily and kept on playing with the strings of the instrument. Curious, Louis looked at the present in his lap and glanced at the label. _To Daddy from Freddie (and Niall)_ it read in Nialls handwriting. He opened it carefully and revealed a photo book. He nearly cried when he thumb through it. It was all full of photos from the important moments in Freddie life, from his birth to this point. Niall had written small notes on every page with the help of Freddie and it was full of drawings from the boy as well. Niall must have worked on it for a while and went through his stuff as well to find the pictures. The fucker.

He closed the book again and and pressed it to his chest. In the end, there were tears escaping his eyes and he heard shuffling close to him.

„Not like it, Daddy?“, Freddie asked and patted at Louis's face.

„I love it, bud“, he said with a smile and pulled his son into his lap, burrying his nose into his hair, „truly love it.“

 

„Have you even looked at job advertisements?“, Niall asked accusingly while stiring the bolognese sauce in the pot.

„Nah“, Louis answered absently and kept his focus on the laptop, „couldn't be bothered over Christmas.“

„And are you interested in a new job?“

„Nah“, the brunet answered again and Niall started to feel a bit ignored.

He started setting the table while Louis kept staring at his laptop.

„If you're not looking for a job, what are you doing on that thing then? Playing bubbleshooter again?“

„Hm“, he got as a hummed answer, but before he could actually muster a proper response, Niall shut down the laptop in front of him.

„Rude!“, Louis exclaimed.

„Food“, Niall simply responded and went to the living room to fetch Freddie.

„So“, Louis started when they all sat together „did you had a lovely holiday?“

„Very much!“, the blond answered in excitemend. „Hadn't seen my parents in ages and I spent Christmas Eve doing the 12 pubs with all my cousins. Got a couple of strings for my guitar, which is great since mine was badly in need for a do-over.“

„Found a new job yet?“

„Can get a couple of shifts at the McDonals down the road from me, but...“

„Urgh!“

„Exactly.“

„Alright so“, Louis slid his half eaten plate aside and leaned forward on his elbow, his eyes glistening, „how good are you with repairing guitars.“

He got a wary look in response.

„Decent. Why?“

„Any other instruments?“

„Am not too bad at the drums either. Bit of piano. Why?“

„I have a plan.“

Niall lifted an eyebrow.

„And that would be...?“

„I want to open a music store.“

 

„The cellar is leaking.“

„I don't think that's physically possible.“

„Well, then _something_ is leaking from the cellar.“

„But don't you think it's georgious?“

„I am pretty sure that's mold in the corner. Is that a hole from a rat over there?“

„I think it's the perfect fit.“

„Tell the truth Louis, you just bought the first property you viewed.“

„Because it is perfect!“

Niall rolled his eyes and took a closer look at the future store again. The state it was in could be described as 'currently unlivable.'

„So“, Louis clasped his hands together and looked at him with glee, „what do you think? Can we do it?“

Niall sighed.

„I truly believe _you_ can do everything. And maybe a good amount of paint and a new wallpaper can do wonders as well.“

„Awesome!“

In the following couple of days they refurbished the bought space, Freddie running between their legs and getting yellow paint in his brown hair. Although Louis was the one investing the money from his trust fund, he included Niall in all the decisions, especially when it came down to ordering what they would offer in the store. He did have a great knowledge of music himself, so deciding what sorts of vinyl, cd's and note sheets he would order was like colleting christmas presents over and over again. He left it to Niall to buy instruments that would be suitable for their store. The lad was hesitant at first, since some of the better brands were kinda pricey but after he confirmed that he trusted Niall with everything, he took the task at hand and slowly, their store was filling up with items.

The only frustrating thing was, that clearly and obviously, Louis had been falling in love with Niall. Damn that stupid good looking irish fella with his laugh and his charm!

And beside their very innocent kiss at the airport, they were all best friends-y at all times. Sure, they might have been the occasional linger after a touch or the extra pressure of a hug.

So, here he was, on the evening before the opening, putting last touches on the store, his favourite band blasting through this awesome new speakers and with Niall next to him in these awful tight pants. While he sortted the CD's (again!), the blond was leaned over the counter, his eyes fixed on the computer to go through all his excel lists to make sure they haven't forgotten anything. His body posture made it very easy to look at his ass from this angle.

Louis was thrumming with excitement and nervous energy and he couldn't decide if it was good or bad. He let the CD's be and walked over to the counter. He leaned over to imitate Niall and nudged his shoulder in something, he hoped could be counted as casual.

„How is your OCD treating you?“

„Fuck you“, was the mumbled response and he kept on being ignored.

„We have everything.“

„I just want to make sure, that nothing can come in our way tomorrow.“

„There won't be any.“

This time, Louis leant into Niall on purpose to get his attention. Niall turned his head and looked him in the eyes. Whatever he wanted to say, got stuck in his throat. They were really close.

„I am so proud of you Lou“, the boy next to him finally said quietly after a moment of silence.

„I knew that you could pull something like this off. I knew you would be great as soon as you find something to put your heart into.“

„Couldn't have done it without you“, he mumbled and turned his head unconsciously closer.

„Nah, you could have done it. I am just your sidekick.“

„You're great“, Louis breathed out and Niall started to become a bit pink around his nose. Louis leaned even closer and Nialls breath picked up a bit. Just as Louis was about to close his eyes and lean in the last centimeters the annoying voice of Beyonces 'Single Ladies' came out of his pocket.

„For fucks sakes“, he cursed.

Niall let out a breathless laugh and turned away with a blush on his cheeks while Louis fumbled with his phone. With a curse he could see that it was just his sister destroying the moment.

He picked up the phone, while Niall started going through last tasks in the shop. Louis watched his every move with his eyes.

 

The opening day was just as unglorious as Niall expected. They did flyer a bit here and there but didn't do much else, so he wasn't surprised when they turned the 'Open' sign and the world didn't explode.

With an amused expression the blond watched Louis thrumming his fingers on the wooden counter, his eyes locked on the door, ready to jump at the first customer to come in.

Nothing happened for the first half hour. Niall was in the back of the shop by the instruments, harmonizing most of them. His extra music lessons from school came in handy now and it was like riding a bike, all the important bits came back to him.

When he heard the bell from the door, he could hear Louis jumping up before he even had the chance to turn around.

„Welcome“, his friend yelled into the face of a scared looking 62 year old woman.

„How may I help you?“

Louis beamed at that poor woman, who seemed to be a bit uncomfortable by the attention.

„I just wanted to get some note sheets.“

„Perfect“, Louis couldn't put the grin off his face, „they're over here.“

He basically pushed the lady to the right side of the store where they stashed a huge amount of note sheets, sorted by instrument and then artist (which was a whole argument in itself between Niall and Louis). Even though the women said what she wanted, Louis apparently couldn't help himself but suggest her five other songs that he claimed to like better. When she was finally allowed to pay, Louis discovered that there was no money in the register so he rushed into the back room, yelling and stomping, wondering how this could have happened. Niall watched all of this while quietly laughing from the back of the store.

After the woman left, Louis looked happy and beamed at him now.

„That was so nice.“

„Please stop scaring our customers“, Niall snickered and went back to harmonize the guitars.

„I was the most perfect customer support, you've ever seen.“

At this, Niall laughed loudly. This was going to be fun.

 

It was a splendid day, weather- and moodwise. Louis collected Freddies belongings, that he spread all over the playground at the park. The sun started to settle early on this spring day and Louis was glad that they made the most of this lovely sunday. He didn't bother to make Freddie walk the way back but just picked him and his tiny backpack up and made the walk back to his house.

Freddie had a good laugh and Louis was happy how things turned out. With his new shop being open for a couple of weeks now, he only had the nanny coming in half time and let Freddie play in the store the other half of the day.

The little lad loved music and it gave him the opportunity to spend more time with his son. He really enjoyed the being a shop owner and he already had so many fond memories of Freddie and Niall and music sessions in the store.

Freddie was in the middle of telling him a story about dragons and fantasy monsters when they approached their house and he could see Niall sitting on the steps.

Coming closer, Louis could see that he had a backpack and his shabby duffle bag next to him. This was curious. Niall had a black beanie on his head and a big hoodie and he was picking his cuticles of the left hand, his right arm pressed against him and Louis started to get worried.

„Nialler“, Freddie yelled out and the brunet put him down so the kid could run to his friend. Niall smiled at him and embraced him shortly, but Louis could see that his heart wasn't entirely with it.

„Come on, Fred, go in inside and get warm.“

„Alone?“

„We'll be there in a second“, Louis opened the door for him and shoed him inside, noticing very well that Niall hasn't moved a milimeter from his position.

He carefully sat beside him after Freddie went inside. The dark bruise on Nialls left eye didn't go unnoticed, but the boy seemed spooked already so Louis tried really hard to not make a fuss about it.

„Are you ok?“

The only answer he got was a shuddered breath from Niall and before he could do anything else, a head leaned into his shoulder. Louis turned to him and hugged him completely. Niall buried his face in Louis neck.

„What happened Ni?“, Louis whipered into his hair.

„I don't think I can go back to my place.“

„Why?“

„Zayn found me.“

Louis stiffened. Niall started to loose his grip on Louis and sit up straighter.

„My door was cracked open when I came back and he was waiting inside. Drunk. Or stoned, I can't remember.“

With a gentle gesture he cuped Nialls face, his thump carefully stroking the swollen skin that started to turn blue around his eye.

„Where else are you hurt?“

„I think my wrist might be broken. Or sprained. I don't know, I fell down the stairs and it feels awkward.“

Hesitatentely Niall moved his arm away from his body and it was such a sign of trust to Louis that he just showed it to him. The wrist did look broken.

„Why did you not went to the emergency room?“

„I don't know. I wanted to come here.“

Niall shied away from Louis glanced and he seemed embarrassed. With firm hands, he turned Nialls head around to him.

„I am glad you came to me. You are alway, _always_ , welcome.“

He checked his opponed again from top to bottom, looking for more injuries.

„Anything else? You said you fell down the stairs?“

„Just bruises here and there. Zayn pushed me, stepped on my wrist on the way out.“

Louis felt his blood run cold all over him.

„He is such a bastard.“

„Well“, Niall smiled weakly, „that, I knew for a while.“

„Alright“, Louis said after a second of silence, „let's get your stuff inside and you to a doctor.“

He grabbed the backpack and the duffel bag and helped Niall up. The lad seemed more shaken than he ever saw him, which is something to say. Which just made the decision that much easier.

„We might as well move you permanently into the guest room.“

„Lou“, Niall started to protest, but didn't get very far.

„No, none of that. I hated that shithole of an apartement of yours from the very first moment and I don't even want to hear you looking for a similar shabby thing that is not entitled to the term 'flat'. You'r staying here and that's the last I am going to say about this.“

With a big huff, Louis sat the bags next to the bed and Niall looked at him from the door, leaning against it slightly.

His face was open and full of emotions.

„What?“, Louis asked irritated, which caused another smile from Niall and him coming closer.

„You are something else Louis Tomlinson.“

And with that, Niall wrapped his good hand into Louis neck and pulled him into a kiss.

He was too surprised to react for a second but when he did there was nothing holding him back. He wrapped his arms around Niall, still carefully for all the bruises but with intent and he kissed back like he wanted to for months.

They broke apart for a second and with a grin on his face Louis said: „How about you never leave?“

„Sounds good to me“, Niall laughed breathlessly and pressed his lips against Louis's again.

 

 

 

 


End file.
